Tasting Notes with Jim Bearegard: Around the world for more Spectacular wines

These are all available at the state liquor stores, and their current prices are listed. Getting right down to business:

Trinchero Family Estates 2015 Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc; California. 13.9% alcohol by volume; $10.99. Lemon green in the glass, with medium intensity, this is a dry Sauvignon Blanc with medium body and medium-plus flavor intensity that is remarkably rich: apple, gooseberry, pear, lemon peel and some hints of grapefruit, along a finish that is both bracing and delicious. Serve it just a little bit chilled and you will not be disappointed. If you’re looking for a little brace of spring in the midst of this particularly cold winter, look no further.

Molly Dooker Scooter Merlot; Australia. 15% ABV; $22.99. This is one that is brought in by one of New Hampshire’s own distributors, Crush Wines. Merlot has had something of a bad rap ever since the movie “Sideways” but wines like this help to correct that false impression. It’s a beautiful deep-purple, dry on the palate, with medium tannin, just right for this one, medium body and medium-plus flavor intensity that runs back and forth between black plum and blackberry, classic flavors for a Merlot. Good balance with a long and pleasing finish.

Crush has also brought in a dessert wine that I would be amiss not to mention: Eden Ice Honey Crisp Cider, Vermont. 10% ABV; $27.99 (375 ml) is made from honey crisp apples. It is gold in the glass, a beautiful bright hue, rich and full of apple flavor. It’s not sweet; rather, the fruit is very forward and intense, as it should be. It’s made from apples from many areas of the northern USA. Pair it with apple pie, apple crisp, apple cobbler, or, enjoy it all on its own. This one is worth seeking out.

Terra Forte 2012 Selection Red (Syrah, Touriga Nacional and Cabernet Sauvignon). Portugal; $19.99. You might not necessarily know it from the blend of grapes if the Syrah and the Cab catch your eye first, but this is a wine from Portugal. Purple in the glass, of medium intensity, dry with medium-plus tannin, medium-plus body from a very good blending of the grapes, and medium-plus flavor intensity, in which black fruit first emerges, and then, as it moves along to the finish, come blackberry, bramble, black plum, and some dried fruit as well, notably, fig and raisin. This is a very rich wine that develops on the palate, right to the end.

There’s still more ahead. We’ll have more “spectacular” wines next week.